Lieder

In Lieder, Donegan sets up a series of charged relationships -- between artist and model, art object and artistic "gesture," performer and viewer. The "lieder" of the title (German for "songs") are the amplified squeaks of Donegan's swiveling metal stool as it rotates. Donegan's head is wrapped in plastic and duct-tape, her pregnant body swathed in a black garbage bag. Rendered anonymous, accompanied by the menacing noise of the chair, the artist becomes mechanized and impersonal. Gobs of brightly-colored paint are hurled at her from off-screen, underscoring the aura of threat and violence, which Donegan suggests is implicit in the relationship between performer and spectator.